1. Technical Field
The present invention relates in general to a method and system for data processing and in particular to an improved method and system of user interface to a data processing system. Still more particularly, the present invention relates to an improved method and system for denying graphical pointer access to a visible or hidden widget output on a display screen.
2. Description of the Related Art
Within data processing systems, user interface is accomplished in a variety of ways. An increasingly common type of user interface is a graphical user interface (GUI), which provides a user with a graphical and intuitive display of information. Typically, the user interacts with a GUI display with a graphical pointer, which a user controls utilizing a graphical pointing device, such as a mouse, track ball, or joystick. Depending upon the actions allowed by the application of operating system software, the user can select a widget (i.e., a user-discernible feature of the graphic display) by positioning the graphical pointer over the widget and depressing a button associated with the graphical pointing device. Furthermore, depending upon the type of widget, the user can relocate the widget within the graphical display utilizing the well-known drag-and-drop technique. Conventionally, the motion of the graphical pointer within the GUI display has a fixed relationship to the manipulation of the graphical pointing device over all portions of the graphical display. For example, if the user moves the graphical pointing device two units to the right, the graphical pointer responds by moving two scaled units to the right within the graphical display.
While user-control of the display pointer is advantageous, there are situations where it is desirable to have the graphical display pointer behavior beyond the control of the user and, instead, under control Of the system or some administrator of the system. For example, in a network environment, supervisors and employees may have access to the same set of windows and fields on display screens. Under certain circumstances, it is desired to preclude employees from using some of the fields, e.g., for data entry, whereas supervisors may have unlimited access rights. In the past, when a user with a low level of security access keys in data or uses the "Enter" key within certain areas of the screen, a program has been provided to reject the data and then display an error message. This approach is disadvantageous because considerable user and computer time is wasted in entering data that can only be rejected. Another disadvantage is that the method of rejection, including the contents of the error message, may encourage and assist computer hackers in circumventing security procedures. Still another problem with this approach is that there is no practical means of providing timely counseling to users who repeatedly attempt to enter the data.
Consequently, it would be desirable to provide an improved method and system for controlling the movement of a graphical pointer within a GUI. In particular, it would be highly desirable to provide a method and system for forbidding the graphical display pointer from actually entering or coming to rest within certain areas of the display screen, or to trap the pointer if it attempts to come to rest in certain areas of the screen.